Gayle King Stunned After Learning Lone Holdout Juror in Lindsay Clancy Trial Was a Black Man

CBS Mornings host visibly flustered upon learning the dissenting juror was the only person of color on the panel

By [Staff Writer] | September 11, 2026

CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King was left visibly stunned during a Friday interview after learning that the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial was a Black man—and the only person of color on the jury.

Paula Devlin, one of the 11 jurors who voted to find Clancy not criminally responsible for strangling her three young children, appeared on the network morning show to discuss the deliberations that ended in a mistrial last week. When King asked about the jury's demographic makeup, Devlin confirmed that the holdout was a Black man in his 30s.

"Whoa. I have to sit with that for just a second," King said, appearing visibly flustered by the revelation.

The Jury Composition

Devlin told King that the jury consisted of nine white women and two white men who voted in favor of ruling that Clancy's mental state rendered her not criminally responsible, with the lone Black male juror holding out for a murder conviction. The jury members ranged in age from 22 to "70-ish".

Plymouth County, where the trial was held, is roughly 81% white and 14% Black, according to U.S. Census figures.

King returned to the topic at the end of her nearly 18-minute interview with Devlin. "I'm very fascinated by the holdout juror, learning that he's a Black man today," King said. "Can you just tell me his age, I'm very curious".

What the Holdout Couldn't Accept

Devlin explained that the holdout juror struggled to understand how Clancy could take so many steps in an apparent suicide attempt while in a supposed state of psychosis.

"That she could do this one at a time, and then do all the steps that she did to go and commit suicide," Devlin said.

Clancy, 36, does not deny fatally strangling her children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months old—before cutting her wrists and jumping out of a second-story window in January 2023. Her defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible.

The trial ended in a mistrial after jurors told Judge William Sullivan they were deadlocked 11-1.

Fellow Jurors Describe Tense Deliberations

Fellow juror Nick Dargie, 25, told ABC News that the holdout at one point attempted to mimic the way Clancy killed her children using an exercise band and a water bottle.

"He took the exercise band out of the bag, grabbed an empty water bottle and tied the band around the water bottle and pulled it," Dargie said. "I was just so shocked that he did that".

Dargie said the holdout refused to explain how witness testimony supported his position. "There wasn't a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was, which is why we ultimately sent in that note".

Devlin described the holdout to Boston's NBC10 as "arrogant" and said he "completely disregarded" the nurses on the jury when they discussed Clancy's medications.

Media Reaction

The moment quickly went viral, with conservative media watchdog Curtis Houck arguing that King's surprise spoke volumes about American culture. "King — whose best friend Oprah recently taped a sympathetic, pro-Clancy special — came off as though she had just been hit by a proverbial bus, meaning she clearly thought he was a White male she could stereotype," Houck told Fox News Digital.

The holdout juror has not been identified or spoken publicly, and jurors' identities have been sealed until at least September 18.